New Zealanders open up homes to Lions fans during tour

(Reuters) - New Zealand rugby fans have created an initiative to host British and Irish Lions supporters who are unable to find accommodation during their side's tour of New Zealand in June and July.

On the 10-match tour, the Lions play three tests against the All Blacks and five matches with New Zealand Super Rugby teams. The tour is expected to attract more than 20,000 Lions fans.

A Facebook page called: "Adopt a Lions Fan 2017" was created by Adam Glishnan after he realized that many Lions supporters could not attend the tour due to lack of accommodation options. Over 100 participants have since posted on the page.

"I really hope friendships will develop out of this, because rugby is a great vehicle for it," Glishnan told the Guardian.

"We don't want money to change hands at all, we want visitors to experience the famed Kiwi hospitality, and give Kiwi rugby fans to opportunity to look after their Lions guests."

A majority of hotels in cities that are hosting the tests are 90 percent booked and services like AirBnb are offering rooms for prices as high as 670 pounds ($842.99) a night, according to the Guardian.

(Reporting by Aditi Prakash in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)